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Archive for the ‘anthology’ Category

The road to writing and publishing is paved with a whole lot of self-doubt and countless rejections. Writers need to celebrate any accomplishment, big or small, to help fuel motivation and bade away the naysayers (internal and external). New Year’s Eve is a good opportunity to pause and take stock of accomplishments of the past year and reflect on upcoming goals.

Personally it’s been a year of firsts, with some accomplishments of note:

Cover feature: My Weird Western tale “Dusty Arrival” was the cover story for the award-winning Andromeda Spaceways Magazine (March 2018 issue). This was a particular thrill: it never gets old to see how talented illustrators interpret your work.

Audio: Another big highlight was a foray into audio storytelling with the acceptance of my reprint story “The Peerlings” for the Tales to Terrify podcast. Much like when an artist visually manifests your story, it is surreal and gratifying to hear a talented voice actor interpret your tale.

I am incredibly grateful for the writing and editing community, particularly in the areas of genre fiction, which often are misunderstood by the general public. I am also indebted to friends and family who provide support in this tough craft. I hope the coming year leads to new stories that provide respite, intrigue or food for thought. Happy 2019!

“It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”

–Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

It’s aliiiiiive!

Edited by Derek Newman-Stille, We Shall Be Monsters (Renaissance Book Press, 2018) celebrates Frankenstein’s 200th birthday with similarly themed stories by authors from around the world. My dark short story “Wanting” shows how far a high school student will go to fit in in a cybernetic, near-future society.

Mary Shelley’s genre-changing book Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, helped to shape the genres of science fiction and horror, and helped to articulate new forms for women’s writing. It also helped us to think about the figure of the outsider, to question medical power, to question ideas of “normal,” and to think about what we mean by the word “monster.” Derek Newman-Stille has teamed up with Renaissance Press to celebrate Frankenstein’s 200th birthday by creating a book that explores Frankenstein stories from new and exciting angles and perspectives.

We Shall Be Monsters: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Two Centuries On features a broad range of fiction stories by authors from around the world, ranging from direct interactions with Shelley’s texts to explorations of the stitched, assembled body and narrative experiments in monstrous creations. We Shall Be Monsters collects explorations of disability, queer and trans identity, and ideas of race and colonialism.

“Turning Tides” was first published at The Horror Tree’s January 29, 2017 online edition. The story is what’s known as a “drabble.” These are flash fiction pieces taken to an extreme, incorporating style, character and plot all within a paltry 100 words.

The new collection, which includes both dribbles and flash stories, is edited by Stephanie Ellis and Stuart Conover, who curate the immensely popular Horror Tree website.

From the publisher:

This Trembling With Fear anthology is a compilation of all the drabbles, flash fiction stories and dark poetry published during 2017 at HorrorTree.com. In its pages you will find work from both the novice and the established writer, the newbie and the award-winner. Here, the dead walk and murders abound, demons and ghosts torment the living whilst vampires and wolves compete for space with internet and aliens. Within these pages you will find dark speculative fiction from contributors across the globe, for our world is a world without borders. Nowhere is safe from the dark.

We have had some amazing talent contribute to the first year of ‘Trembling With Fear’ and we hope that you enjoy reading these as much as we have!

I’ve sold a new short story to an anthology focused on my favorite category of genre fiction: science fiction horror.

Beyond the Infinite: Tales from the Outer Reaches is the latest installment in the “Things in the Well” publication series, which includes several themed horror anthologies showcasing new and established authors such as Clive Barker. Edited by Steve Dillon and featuring the classic “The Colour Out of Space” by H.P. Lovecraft as well as stories by H.G. Wells, Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell and others, this one promises to be an exciting collection of classic and new dark science fiction.

I am thrilled to be part of this anthology celebrating the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.In honor of this cornerstone of horror literature, the new anthology features short stories with alternative takes on the theme of the monster and otherness.

During high school, I was obsessed with Frankenstein–the writing, the story, the angst of the monster and its creator. I am incredibly honored to, years later, pay homage to this brilliant tale and its remarkable author. My story, “Wanting,” debuts in this collection and shows the disturbing lengths a teenager girl will go to in order to fit in in a cybernetic future.

7-time Aurora Award-winning editor and critic Derek Newman-Stille teamed up with Renaissance Press to pull together horror stories from authors around the world. On the anthology’s Kickstarter page, Newman-Stille describes the project:

200 years ago, Mary Shelley wrote a genre-changing book, which she titled “Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus”. This story helped to shape the genres of science fiction and horror and helped to articulate new forms for women’s writing. It also helped us to think about the figure of the outsider, to question medical power, to question ideas of normal, and to think about what we mean by the word “monster”. Her book inspired adaptations into stage, into film, into new books, poetry, television, and all manner of art.

We Shall Be Monsters: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Two Centuries On will feature a broad range of fiction stories, from direct interactions with Shelley’s texts to explorations of the stitched, assembled body and narrative experiments in monstrous creations. We Shall Be Monsters is a fiction collection that will feature explorations of disability through Frankenstein, queer and trans identity, ideas of race and colonialism. Shelley’s story provides a space for exploring a multitude of identities through the figure of the sympathetic outsider. Frankenstein’s “monster” is a figure of Otherness, and one that can tell stories of exclusion and social oppression.

The Kickstarter has already met its funding goal, but if you are interested in supporting the project, there are 3 days left to contribute!

Just in time for Halloween season, I have a story appearing in this new anthology, See Through My Eyes, edited by Amber M. Simpson and Madeline L. Stout. The cover gives me chills! I haven’t read it yet, but who can resist a good ghost story–better yet, a ghost mystery?

This week, the excellent Legion of Leia website (which aims to “raise awareness of the fact that women love sci-fi”) asked me a few questions about the topic of horror and being a woman writer in genre literature. I highly recommend checking out this blog and podcast if you haven’t already–it covers a wide breadth of topics related to geekdom, some near and dear to my heart, such as the upcoming X-men movie and season of Stranger Things.

For this interview, fellow horror writer Dr. Billy San Juan interviewed me on the topic of horror, how I got into writing and my story in the upcoming anthology California Screamin’, (featuring 14 horror stories that take place in Southern California, the book is available for preorder now). Here’s a brief excerpt of the Q&A:

Legion of Leia: Fear is generally considered a negative emotion, and yet the horror genre is incredibly popular. Why are readers so drawn to the things that scare us?

K.C. Grifant: Horror is usually considered a catharsis. You get to experience something horrific and frightening but come out in one piece… even if the character doesn’t. It might tap into the same adrenaline that gives people a rush when they’re on a roller coaster or skydiving, an I survived sort of high. Interestingly, different types of horror don’t have the same effect on everyone. For example, some people revel in reading or watching real-life horror such as true crime, but can’t handle paranormal horror. I’m the reverse; the more creative and unusual the monster, the more satisfying it is for me to watch. But realistic hostage or serial killer stories freak me out. I think it comes down to everyone’s stress valves and what gives you a sense of escape and relief. The appeal of horror seems especially prominent right now, probably due to two factors: People needing a break from our current environment of unrelenting, distressing news and often negative hive-mind social media chatter, and a resurgence of high-quality shows and books to provide that release.